Did you fail your 11+ exam?

This was in Cambridge, Elderly Person. There were three single-sex grammar schools for girls and three for boys. All were not considered equal though. There was a definite hierarchy. The top girls’ and boys’ schools also (maybe primarily given that some definitely struggled) took fee-paying pupils.

I passed and started at an all girls grammar school in a Berkshire tourist town when I as 10 . Straw boaters in the summer and velour hats in the winter being frequently photographed by American tourists . Imagine that now!

The other option was a Co- Ed grammar school in another town.

I took the 11+ in 1964 and passed top in my school. I went on to a posh all girl's grammar school.

No, I passed in 1956.

I passed the 11+in 1947, a year or so after the first intake
I was in a primary class of about 40 and almost everyone got a place.
A few of the boys came from relatively well off families and went to fee-paying schools .
No-one had much money in those days.
Some of the girls who were offered a place refused because their parents needed them to work asap to support the family.
Very clever girls too. So the gender discrimination was always there.
Those who went to Sec. Mod school also got a good education and could be successful eg my husband, who always earned more than me.

I passed and so did my two brothers. My parents made great sacrifices for us all to go to grammar school and I shall be forever grateful to them for giving us the opportunity despite being from a poor working class family.

Yes, I passed. I think quite a lot of my class did. 5 of us all went on to the same girls grammar and other girls and boys went to other grammar schools.

Sarah1954 oh that’s just ? terrible
what gets into parents that they set so much store by a bit of paper and to the detriment of their own offspring.

That is interesting. A choice of grammar school. In this area there was only one, so the notion of choice was never part of it all

Where I lived, we had a choice of grammar schools, assuming we passed. I did, and my parents listed their preferences in order, three choices. I got my first choice.

the policy planning was for only 25-30% to go to grammar school. so in most classes, only 3 -4 pupils could go, and more boys than girls overall.
so even if the whole class seemingly passed, the acceptable mark would have to be moved up that year.

I wasn't middle class and I passed, went on to a co-ed grammar school. My father and his sibling had in the '30s . Quite a few cousins did as well.
When you got there there was a difference made to the children of Dr's and Managers by some teachers who always said we were miners children even when we weren't as if that made us second class. .I enjoyed my time but it did make me class conscious and set me up for the class divide when I went on to teaching college in the North East.

Gwyneth I have heard many people say their parents made sacrifices for them to get them to achieve their potential and in no way wish to deride this or your parents ambitions for you, only it puzzles me because to my knowledge the Grammar schools were free to attend if you passed the 11 plus ( although admittedly the uniforms were an expense) so may I enquire what the particular sacrifices were and how did they enable you?

I ' failed' the 11+ . My parents were very kind and understanding - thankfully. However the shame is long lasting. I studied as an adult and gained a first class degree and taught adults with learning difficulties. Part of my degree involved the purpose and value of assessment and the issue surrounding the 11+ was discussed. It was interesting to hear a tutor say that girls were disadvantaged at the age of 11 in the post war period. Particularly girls in the north of England , after the war the mills and factories needed re - establishing and girls were earmarked to do this. While boys were chosen to take on professional positions. Failing that examination had a lasting and profound effect on me , my self confidence was nill. Hearing that from a lecturer did make me feel a little better!! I felt so bad about failing but had wonderful parents , it must have been dreadful for those children whose parents were so disappointed and not as kind as mine. The 11+ was a massive injustice!

I never took it but my husband passed but his parents couldn't afford the uniform, travelling costs etc and expected him to go to work at 15. He took a clerical job and went to night school 3 nights a week to get his qualifications that led to a successful career.
My brother failed but my parents could afford private school. He went on to become a barrister and eventually a QC. He had an economic advantage over my husband which made it far easier for him to become successful.
I think the exam in the 50's and 60's was unfair, just a snapshot of someone on a particular day. In the 90's when we lived in Gloucestershire they still had grammar schools but did a fairer assessment of pupils, exams plus their coursework which seems a far better system.

the uniform was very expensive, designed to be so, and all other equipment, sports kit, etc.
also the cost of travel as being fewer, more travelling was often involved.
and the expectation of staying on to take exams. many families struggled and needed that wage as soon as possible at age 15.

Framilode makes the point well.
think of all that wasted potential, lost to the economy. all those from poorer backgrounds who never got a chance to be barristers etc.
to contribute their abilities to their clients or to serve justice.
for example.

I agree that the 11+ was an unfair test. I passed, as did my brother and sister, and we went to the girls' and boy's grammar schools. There was only one for each sex.
I can clearly remember the humiliating way we were told. The teacher just pointed to each of us, saying, You've passed, you haven't.' I think about half the class passed.

The 11+ system only spanned about 25 years. As a child, I had assumed that the system was normal and had always been the same.

I was acutely aware that I wasn't at the top of the cleverness stakes when I went to the grammar school. But, the teaching was good, the teachers amazingly strict in comparison with today, and most people came out with a good clutch of O and A levels.

there is a fascinating thread over on MN about things people didn't realise, mostly about how other people lived.
some of it touches on these issues. and these are mostly among much younger people.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4304394-How-the-other-half-lives-what-and-when-you-learned?msgid=109383211

I passed my 11+ but none of my friends did. They all went to the secondary modern and I went to the grammar school for girls. How lonely I was that first term with none of my friends.

I felt that too AGAA4, My friends passed , I did’nt - opposite situation to you ! but the feeling was the same. It divided us into those who were successful and those that were’t. I agree it is not the end of the world , but that does not compensate for being labelled a failure at the tender age of 11!! I am sure the teaching was of a poor standard too, teachers did not expect us to do well , the result was we didn’t do well.

I and a boy in my class were both 'borderline' when we took our 11 plus in 1970. I guess they must have reviewed the papers, or looked at other work. I ended up passing and going to the grammar school, and he failed.
My parents were really pleased as when I had moved to the primary school 3 years earlier, the teacher told them I "didn't have a snowball's chance in hell" of passing! That phrase has always stuck with me.

No I never failed my !!+ but I could not go to Grammar School because my parents had neither the money nor the clothing coupons for the uniform.
This was way back in 1941 when the war was raging. I left school in 1944 when I was 14 to start work in the local newspaper mills.

YES I am that old and at 91 years of age I am a very lucky lady to still be here and have my thinking faculties still in place.

Well done Maywalk . you're 6-7 years older than me.
It's important to keep things in perspective because who knows if recent economic luxuries could suddenly become a thing of the past.

I passed, my abiding memory is not of the exam, or any reactions except Mum and Dad let me take a friend out to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate. My younger sister went to a private school and my even younger brother to a school run by Jesuits, all the schools were single sex.

ninathenana “ failing your eleven plus isn’t the end of the world” exactly what our rather trendy male teacher said to us after the results letters were handed to us in our last few weeks at primary school. This was 1972. Sir obviously didn’t approve of the whole thing plus it was the time of “we’ll all be wearing silver ?‍? space suits, swallowing capsules for our dinners” and why do we need 12 times tables now we have gone decimal, or feet and inches or history ? What a mess! The teachers at my junior school it seems now, all followed their own individual curriculum. Thankfully I could read and write well if nothing else. The exam itself was like a sort of tick the box/circle the answer from what I recall, questions like “ If it takes a man a week to walk a fortnight then how long is a piece of string?” There was some practice for a period leading up to the BIG DAY using I presume previous years test papers. But at no time was it stated that this was for the 11 plus exam. We kids assumed it must be but it was never mentioned by parents either - perhaps so we didn’t panic. Any how it turned out we were amongst the last lot to take it and a year or so later it was abolished anyway and the large “rough” mixed secondary school merged with the the top choice girls grammar school. ? my Mother was so concerned because I didn’t pass that I was sent to a small private school.